Pool Reports of May 12, 2021

Pool report #1 - Checking In

Good morning from the White House, where it's relatively cool and partly sunny (or partly cloudy, if you prefer) - I'll be your print pooler for the day. Please feel free to reach out with any questions.

No changes so far to the president's schedule, which was released last night:

EDT

9:30 AM THE PRESIDENT receives the President's Daily Brief
Oval Office
Closed Press

10:00 AM In-Town Pool Call Time

11:00 AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with members of Congressional Leadership to discuss policy areas of mutual agreement; Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, and Leader McCarthy attend
Oval Office
Restricted In-House Pool Spray at the Top (Final Gather 10:40 AM – Brady Press Briefing Room)

3:30 PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks on the COVID-19 response and the vaccination program
South Court Auditorium
In-House Pool Coverage (Final Gather 3:10 PM – Stakeout Location)

Briefing Schedule

12:00 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki

Pool report #2 - Guests at briefing

From the White House: Joining today's press briefing with Press Secretary Jen Psaki at noon will be Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

Pool report #3 - Gathering

Pool has gathered in the briefing room ahead of POTUS and VPOTUS meeting with the Big Four: Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, and Leader McCarthy.

Pool report #4 - In and out of Oval

Pool entered the Oval at approximately 11:12 AM.

No real news.

Pelosi/Schumer seated on couches opposite McConnell/McCarthy. POTUS and VPOTUS seated in chairs.

POTUS said he was happy to host the leaders, said they were going to see whether they can reach some "consensus," talk about compromise, infrastructure

Pool escorted out at approximately 11:14 AM.

Fuller quotes TK.

Pool report #5 - some POTUS quotes

Some POTUS quotes from the Oval - as always, please check against audio/video/transcript.

"I'm happy to have the House and Senate leadership here"

"When I ran, I said I wasn't going to be a Democratic president," but one for "all Americans"

"The bottom line here is we're going to see whether we can reach some consensus on a compromise…we're going to talk a lot about infrastructure"

Pool report #6 - link to audio

https://otter.ai/u/ZysvtygrL2YbcOajahS2PiIQ9ZY

Relevant portion runs from about 1:30 to 3:00.

Pool report #7 - link to audio, second try

I've heard from some that people can't access the audio from the link I sent out - sorry about that.

Here's a new one: https://otter.ai/u/ZysvtygrL2YbcOajahS2PiIQ9ZY

Pool report #8 - Two-minute warning to press briefing

A two-minute warning was called at approximately 12:09 PM.

Pool report #9 - briefing begins

The briefing began at approximately 12:11 PM.

Pool report #10 - meeting over

The White House advised at 12:46 PM that the meeting with the president, vice president, and the Big Four just ended.

Pool report #11 - briefing over

The briefing concluded at approximately 1:04 PM.

Pool report #12 - lunch lid

A lunch lid has been called until 3:00 PM.

Pool report #13 - audio of McConnell and McCarthy at WH stakeout

Your pooler was in the briefing when Leader McConnell and Leader McCarthy came out to address reporters, but a link to the audio is posted below - tremendous thanks to Lisa Desjardins on this:

https://otter.ai/u/2CSTkv8qOaXhxNvDDv8nwjZszdE

Pool report #14 - Gathering

The pool has gathered at the stakeout location ahead of the president's remarks on "the COVID-19 response and the vaccination program" from the South Court Auditorium.

The remarks are being streamed on the White House website, so I'll keep more of an eye out for any noteworthy color.

Pool report #15 - Two-minute warning

A two-minute warning for POTUS was called at approximately 4:06 PM.

Pool report #16 - POTUS starts talking

The president took the stage and started speaking at approximately 4:11 PM.

Pool report #17 - POTUS finishes

The president finished his remarks at approximately 4:21 PM. ?

Responding to a question about gas prices, he said he anticipated some "good news" in the next 24 hours.

Asked about Middle East, said he spoke recently to Benjamin Netanyahu and that he anticipated a statement would be forthcoming.

Said he came out of the meeting with the Big Four today "encouraged."

"I've been meeting with bipartisan leaders for a long time now"

Spoke positively of his meeting on Tuesday with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona

Pool report #18 - lid

A travel/photo lid was called at approximately 4:48 pm. Have a great evening!